TODAY SHOW LOVE TRIANGLE DOSSIER

NBC up-and-comer SAVVANNAH GUTHRIE brings some bag­gage to her new gig on the “Today” show – she was the “other woman” in a love triangle that set the me­dia world buzzing!

While reporting on Michael Jackson’s sexual molesta­tion trial in 2005, Savannah hooked up with handsome – but very married – British TV producer Mark Orchard.

“They were both cover­ing the trial – Savannah for Court TV and Mark for the BBC – and they were drawn to each other. There was in­stant chemistry between them and all the media types noticed,” a source told The ENQUIRER.

“During the trial’s down­time, they headed off together. Among the other journalists there, there was a lot of talk about Savannah and Mark pairing off.”

Over the course of the five-month trial, Orchard left his wife, then-“New York Times” reporter Anne Kornblut, and began publicly dating Savan­nah – newly named co-host of “Today’s” third hour.

The lovebirds married in December 2005, but split in January 2009, and the affair tar­nished 39-year-old Savannah’s name, said the source.

“Savannah has a reputation of being a great journalist, but her affair with Mark gave her a black eye in some circles,” the source re­vealed.

“His ex-wife Anne is a real­ly outstanding woman, and she has a lot of friends who obviously aren’t big fans of Savannah.”

Anne went on to marry political journalist Jon Cohen last year, while Savannah is now dating political consultant Mi­chael Feldman, a former aide to Al Gore.

But insiders wonder whether Savannah – now based in Washington, D.C., as NBC’s White House cor­respondent and co-host of “The Daily Rundown” on MSNBC – will stay with Feldman when she moves to New York City for her “Today” job.